Baba Vanga Foundation

History of St. Petka Church in the Rupite

In 1984 Baba Vanga bequeathed all of her properties and possessions to the Government of Bulgaria. Baba Vanga’s house in Petrich is Government owned, and is opened as a museum in 2009.

In 1991 Baba Vanga decides to invest all of the funds collected over the years in the construction of the temple. She shares her desire infront of her spiritual son – Dimitar Valchev and the artist Svetlin Rusev. “I want to raise a white church in the Rupite to be a home for all believers. To be a place where people come and pray, and purify themselves. I want to use all this money that people from all religions and nationalities paid to come and visit me, and to build a temple of God, for people’s salvation.”

In 1992 the construction of the temple starts under the supervision of Baba Vanga. The chosen place for the temple is only meters away from Baba Vanga’s house. After the project was approved by Metropolitan Pimen, on May 31st 1992 the first sod was turned in his presence. Baba Vanga insisted the project to be prepared by the architects – Bogdan Tomalevski and Lozan Lozanov.

Videos of Rupite Complex

The project is accepted with great enthusiasm and trust by the followers of the prophetess – everybody donates according to their financial ability. Together with people’s help St. Petka Church was built in two years. This is one of the first churches built in Bulgaria after the communistic regime fell down in 1989. The beginning of the nineties are marked with a lot of confusion, poverty, and instability. The Government takes a new path restructuring numerous institutions, creating chaos and high unemployment rates. People are starving, but nevertheless a lot of poor families donate small amounts, just so they can invest their “brick” in the construction of Baba Vanga’s temple.